Switzerland wraps up first place in Group B at the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Switzerland put a damper on Canada's World Cup party in Vancouver.

The Swiss got goals from Rubén Vargas and Johan Manzambi to beat Canada 2-1 on Wednesday and win Group B. Now Switzerland will get a week of rest before returning to the same city to face one of the eight best third-place finishers on July 2.

“I think that we deserve to be where we are right now," Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “In three days from now, we will know the opponent of the next match, and now we have the possibility to watch this tournament, and to watch the matches, and we will take what we will get.”

Canada dropped to second place in the group and will play in the knockout round for the first time in team history. But the Canadians had been hoping for a win or a draw on Wednesday so they would play their round of 32 match on home soil.

Instead, Canada will travel Inglewood, California, for its next game on Sunday against the second-place finisher in Group A.

“We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it’ll be from Los Angeles," Canada coach Jesse Marsch said.

After Manzambi came off the bench and scored two goals in Switzerland’s 4-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday, he earned a spot in the starting lineup against Canada. The 20-year-old midfielder became the youngest player to score two goals off the bench in the World Cup and is among the breakout young stars at the tournament.

Vargas broke through for Switzerland about 40 seconds into the second half with a strike that sailed past sliding Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, hit the post and went into the net.

Breel Embolo then crossed the ball to Manzambi, whose shot went through the hands of Crépeau to put the Swiss up 2-0 in the 57th minute. The goal quieted the red-clad sellout crowd, which included Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani.

Canada pulled a goal back in the 76th. Promise David scored with a volley on his first touch of the game about a minute after he came on as a substitute. But despite a flurry of chances, the Canadians couldn't find the second goal to keep them at home.

Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka had a chance in the scoreless first half but his free kick in the 37th minute and sailed over the net as he let out a yell.

Ali Ahmed had one of Canada’s best attempts of the first half in the 42nd minute, but his shot to the near post was smothered by Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

On Thursday, Canada won its first World Cup match, 6-0 over Qatar, and put itself in position to advance. But the historic victory was bittersweet because Ismaël Koné was stretchered off with a broken left leg. Koné was at Wednesday’s game on crutches.

The Swiss opened the World Cup with a lackluster 1-1 draw against Qatar before they routed Bosnia with a flurry of late goals. Considered the favorite in Group B, Switzerland has played at the last five World Cups and advanced to the round of 16 in the past three.

“We needed some time to get really into this tournament, for many nations that was the case," Yakin said. "There were big teams who won against small countries, so we really needed to get into this tournament fast, and the way we play football now, I’m very happy with that.”

Canada, making its third World Cup appearance, opened the tournament with a 2-2 draw against Bosnia.

“We have to give our team a lot of credit. We’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve had a lot of adversity, we’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve had to manage a lot of different situations," Marsch said. "We still got a really good point in the first game, we had a fantastic performance against Qatar and on another day, even though we go down 2-0, maybe we get a goal and maybe we win the group. It was just a matter of fine margins.”

Bosnia beat Qatar 3-1 in the other Group B match Wednesday and could still advance as a third-place team. Qatar has been eliminated.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Canada's Ismael Kone, who broke his leg in a match against Qatar on June 18, watches teammates warm up before the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau (16) is scored on by Switzerland's Ruben Vargas during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (1) jumps to make a save during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Switzerland's Johan Manzambi (9) celebrates scoring their second goal during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Switzerland's Ruben Vargas (17) is mobbed by teammates after scoring their first goal during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is formally kicking off celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary by working to get the country excited again — about himself.

The president is hosting a rally Wednesday night on Washington's National Mal. Festivities will include a flyover by stealth bombers, military bands, singer Lee Greenwood of “God Bless the USA” fame and a Trump speech.

It comes as Trump works to convince Americans ahead of critical November midterm elections that he's put the unpopular Iran war in the rearview mirror, with oil prices easing as the Strait of Hormuz has started to reopen in the wake of an interim deal to end the war with Tehran.

The rally is kicking off weeks of celebrations about America and its 1776 founding as part of “The Great American State Fair” on the mall, the national park that stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.

But Trump’s appearance onstage was only announced after several musicians — including Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores — canceled their concerts because of concerns the event had become politicized. The president stepped into the void as he hyped his own ability to command a crowd.

“I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History,” Trump posted on social media about his plan to be the event’s headliner.

Country singer Alexis Wilkins, the longtime girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, posted on X that she too would be performing.

Turnout was robust but crowds were not nearly as large as Trump predicted in the hours before he took the stage. Still, some attendees traveled from far away, including Karen and Brian Ontrap, who drove 500-plus miles from northwest Ohio with their children.

They planned the trip in January to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary and, for some in the group, see Washington for the first time.

Standing in the shade near the stage before the president spoke, Karen Ontrap said the pair support the president “100%.” They were among the early arrivals to the section of the National Mall that was cordoned off, with a concert-style stage decked in U.S. flags at one end and a mock White House exterior at the other.

Trump has struggled to deliver the presidency that he advertised to voters — causing his approval rating to dwell at a low 37%, according to the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling.

Democrats say his botched repairs to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and the resulting algae outbreak are a sign that he’s spending taxpayer money on vanity projects instead of the nation's legacy.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said the Trump-affiliated group organizing the 250th anniversary was selling access to special interests and redrafting the nation's founding to the president's liking, based on documents he presented at a congressional hearing earlier this year.

“It should be about bringing us together,” Huffman said. “He's trying to make this 250th celebration all about him.”

Trump’s fondness for showmanship has not been a match for public anxiety about his presidency. Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of his economic leadership, with favorability at 40% on immigration and 34% on Iran.

“It’s clear that Trump’s preoccupations in his second term — from Iran to the Washington reflecting pool — are not those of most members of his base, let alone other Americans,” said Daniel Treisman, a politics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “That explains his unusually low approval ratings.”

Inflation is still higher than what Trump inherited and it has been outpacing wage growth. The budget deficit remains on a path upward that keeps interest rates high. Investments in artificial intelligence are driving growth, but they come with fears of middle-class job losses such that the construction of data centers needed for America’s tech economy have become controversial politically.

Trump has fueled dramas over tariffs, NATO, immigration, ownership of Greenland and his own renovations of iconic buildings and monuments in Washington — generating a flood of controversy that has pushed things the administration sees as accomplishments — such as the capture of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolás Maduro — off the public radar.

James Snyder, a Harvard University professor, has partnered on research showing that past rallies have helped Trump turn out his supporters to vote, in the short-term. But he noted that Wednesday’s rally comes more than four months before the November midterm elections, and is unlikely to have a politically strategic benefit for Republicans.

“I would not expect that the rally would have any clear effect on the 2026 midterm elections,” Snyder said.

The midterms weren't a concern for Joe and Natalie Cox, who took the Washington area's subway from Arlington, Virginia, “out of curiosity and to mark an historic occasion,” Joe said.

Joe Cox, a retired Army officer and military contractor, and Natalie, who worked for 30 years at the Red Cross, suggested the events planned for Washington were a time for the country to come together.

“It feels like a new spirit of unity,” Natalie Cox said.

Joe, who served overseas on multiple deployments including Iraq and Afghanistan, said the Iran War had been long overdue.

He also said its conclusion, despite some setbacks, was going better than more recent wars.

“It had to be done,” Joe said of the Iran War. “I’ll be glad to no longer hear ‘Death to America.’”

President Donald Trump is pictured in the Oval Office of the White House during an executive order signing about quantum computing, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

France's military aerobatic team, the Patrouille de France, flys over Washington in a tribute to America's 250th birthday, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

An arch is pictured as preparations continue for the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

President Donald Trump dances on stage at a Mack Trucks facility, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Macungie, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)